Typewriting machine



July. 7.,. 1925.

wt F. ROTHERMUND TYPEWRITING MACHINE briginail'Filgd De'c. 14, 1920 Patented July 7, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

WERNER F. ROTHERMUND, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO UNDERWOOD TYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

Application filed December 14, 1920, Serial No. 430,696. Renewed November 7, 1924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WERNER F. ROTHER- MUND, a citizen of the United States, residing in Brooklyn Borough, in the county of Kings, city and State of New York, have ments in Typewriting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

0 This invention relates to continuous billing machines, one form of which is disclosed in the patent to Wernery and Smith, No. 1,132,055, in which the. typewriter-carriage comprises an extension upon which is reciprocable a carbon-paper carriage adapted to carry carbon-sheets for the reproduction in carbon-copies of matter typed upon an outer sheet.

In such machines, the carbon-sheets usually areg sheets of limited length which are clipped to clip-bars upon the carbon-paper carriage. When any sheet is worn out, the clip is released and a new sheet clipped in I place of the exhausted one, which is removed.

' According tothe present invention, there may be substituted, in this kind of typewriting' machine, carbon-supply rolls, carried upon rollers, which are herein illustrated as mounted upon the carbon-paper carriage of a machine built along the linesof the said Wernery and Smith device. Means are provided for holding the rolls against rotation to prevent unwinding of the carbon-sheets except when it is desired to substitute a new strip of carbon-sheet for one that has been exhausted. The holding means are adapted to operate through frictional engagement which may be overcome when it is desired to unwind the carbon-roll Without the necessity of operating any additional mechanism. The holding means are adapted to allow ready insertion of the rollers in, and their withdrawal from, the carbon-paper carriage without necessitating the operation of any mechanism by the operative, and to provide effective locking means for the roller when mounted in the carriage.

The rollers and their associated carbonrolls are mounted in a group on the carbonpaper carriage one above another and one in front of another in vertically staggered relation,so as to be of minimum height, where"- by work-webs may pass above the carbonrollers or spools at a minimum height, thereby enabling the Wo k-Webs to extend. from the rear of the carriage-extension to the platen along a nearly straight line, so that, in the operation of the machine, these webs may be more easily drawn forward and also kept in alignment. invented certain new and useful Improve- Means are also provided for guiding the webs" between, or over, and clear of the carhon-rolls which are wound with their coated or effective surfaces on the inside, in order not to soil the webs when the carbon-sheets are shifted relatively thereto.

Means are further provided for mounting, the carbon-rolls upon the rollers in such" manner as to prevent shifting or relative movement between them.

Other features and advantages will here inafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, a Figure 1 is a side view, largely diagrammatic and partly in section, showing an Underwood typewriter of the continuous billing type with the invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a section, taken on the line 22 of Figure 1, showing the mounting of the rollers and their carbon-rolls in the side members of the carbon-paper carriage.

Figure 3 is a detail view of the mechanism for locking the rollers against rotation.

Figure 4 is -a detail view, showing the method of mounting a carbon-roll on a roller.

In the usual Underwood continuous bi1ling machine, work-webs 1, 2, 3, 4t and 5 are led down over a rear paper-table 6, forming part of the typewriter-carriage'l, and are held against the platen 8 by the usual rear and front feed-rolls 9 and 10.

The webs are interleaved with carbonsheets 11, 12, 13 and 14, which normally extend as far as the printing line, and, from that line, the webs and the carbon-sheets, in the operation of typing, pass above the usual front knife 15 and "lie upon a front paper-tabloid When a form on the webs 1, 2, 3, etc., is fully typed, the platen is swung up in its swing-frame 17 by rotating the frame about the front shaft 18. The platen is swung upwardly a distance such that the various sheets around the platen may be drawn out to form a continuous straight line with the sheets as fed from the rear (see patent to Wernery and Smith, cited above). The straightening of the sheets makes it possible to retract the carbonsheets without undue friction being created by the webs, which would be the case if the webs followed a curved path. The various sheets are gaged against a gage 20, adjustably mounted on'the usual gage-member 21. The webs are held in the gaged position while the carbon-sheets are pulled backwardly by pushing upon the usual handle 22 to carry rearwardly the carbon-sheet carriage 23. The carriage travels on side rails 24, connected at the rear by a cross-bar 25, to form an extension of the typewritercarriage 7 Usually, there is provided a stop 26 which serves to arrest the carbon-sheet carriagev when the latter is pushed rearwardly bythe handle 22.

According to the present invention, the

. carbon-sheets, instead of being short sheets,

as is customarily the case, are in the form of rolls comprising webs of considerable length, each of which is'wound upon a tubular cardboard cylinder or core 30, the. rolls supplying the carbons 11, 12,13 and 14' being slip ed over rollers 31, 32, 33 and 34,

respective y.

. outwardly against the inner surface of the Each hollow cardboard'cylinder is held to its roller by means of an outwardly-bowed leaf spring 35, fixed at one of its ends to the roller at 37, said spring operating-in a slot 38 and ad. pted to press hollow cylinder. The springs, at their outwardly-bowed parts, have upstanding sharp prongs 36, adapted to cut into the inner surface of the cardboard cylinder as the latter is slipped over its roller and hold it fixed relativel. thereto. The rollers are provided with re uced end portions 40 adapted to seat in cut-out portions 41 in vertical side members 42 of the carriage 23. The enlarged ends 43 of the portions 40 prevent sidewise shifting of the rollers and carbonrolls, while providing clearance between the ends of the rollers or spools and the bracket members 42;

Qarried. by the side members 42, adjacent the cut-out portions 41, are pivoted locking members 50, having portions 51 adapted to frictionally engage the reduced ends 40 of the rollers 32. The members 50 are adapted to be pressed against the ends 40 by springs 52.' Pins 54 on the side members 42 limit the movement of locking members 50. The

rollers are normally held against rotation' by the frictional engagement of locking members 50 with both ends of each roller. It will be'observed that members 50 also serve to lock the rollers in the side members 42, and that the rollers may be inserted or withdrawn by merely pressing the rollers down .upon cam-surfaces 53, or up against cam-surfaces 51, to force locking members 50 to one side.

The rollers 31, 32, 33 and 34 are mounted in the side members 42 in a compact group in which the spool 33 is above the spool 31, in which the spool 32 is in front of the spool 31, and in which the spool 34is above the spool 32 and in front of the spool 33, the

spools thus being arranged in both substantially horizontal and vertical series in which the spools 31 and 33 form a rear pair of spools while the spools 32 and 34'form a front pair of spools, and in which also the spools 31 and 32 form a lower pair of spools while the spools 33 and 34vform an upperpair of spools. This manner of grou ing be raised only to a minimum extent, whereby these webs may extend along a more nearly straight line, to facilitate their being drawn forward and kept in alignment, as well as gain other advantages. The lower front carbon-spool32 is raised slightly above the lower rear carbon-spool 31 in order to provide clearance for the next lower work-web 2, which passes beneath the spool 32, and for: the lowermost carbon-sheet 11, which extends forward from the lower side of the lower rear spool 31. spools 34 and 33 are similarly arranged, with the front spool 34 at a slightly higher level than the rear spool 33, for similar reasons, in respect to the next lower workweb 4 and-carbon-sheet 13 below this latter work-web. Tie-rods 61, 62, 63, 64 and 64" are provided extending between the members 42 to guide the webs out of contact with the rolls of carbon-sheets. The carbonsheets are wound with their coated surfaces 65 on the inside, so that, upon retracting the carbon-paper carriage, the movin carbon-sheets will not soil the unused we 5.

In the operation of the device, a' form is typed upon the webs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The platen is swung upwardly, carrying the gage 20 forwardly. The form and carbonsheets are then drawn forwardly and gaged against the gage 20. Only the webs are held together while the handle 22 is pushed rearwardly and the carriage 23 moves back, drawing the carbon-sheets with it. The webs are then torn off against the knife 15. Since, in the elevated position of the platen, the sheets are substantially straight beneath the platen, there is little friction between the.

carbon-sheets and the webs, the frictional engagement of the locks 50 with the reduced end portions or shafts 40 being sufficient to hold the rollers against rotation. Also, by reason of the fact that all of the carbonspools are at a comparatively low level on the carbon-paper-carriage 23, so that thereby the work-webs are kept at a low level and nearly straight, these work-webs may be easily arranged in the machine and drawn forward and may be kept in register without difficulty. VVh'en the used portions of the carbon-sheets become worn and it is desired to substitute new portions, the webs The front and rear upper tiland carbon-sheets are again 'gaged by the .gage 20, but, instead of holding only the webs, the webs and carbon-sheets are held.

and the rollers are rotated, thus drawing off unused portions of the carbon-rollsI The webs and worn carbon-sheet portions are then torn off together against the knife 15.

While the invention has been shown as comprising four carbon-rolls, it will, of course, be understood that any number of rolls may. beprovided, dependlng upon the number of webs upon which copies of the original are to be typed. The additional rolls may be arranged in groups of two, staggered vertically like those shown in the drawings; or, if it is! desired to diminish the vertical height, the rolls may be arranged in rows of three or more, the rolls in each row progressing upwardly, and the rows staggered in relation to each otherin a manner similar to that shown in Figure 1.

Certain features disclosed herein are claimed in the application of Jesse A. B. Smith, Serial No. 429,840, filed December 11, 1920; the claims in this application being limited to features not disclosed in said Smith application.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the nnproveinents may be used without others. Havlngthus described my lnvention, I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine, a carriage,

a platen displaceably mounted in said carriage, a rear carriage-extension, a carbonpaper carriage reciprocable on said exten sion toward and from the platen, and across which work-webs are fed to the-platen, a series of carbon-paper, reserve storage and supply reels on said carbon-paper carriage to lie between the work-webs, each reel arranged to carry a supply of carbon-web wound upon it for reserve, with an end extending forwardly from it for active use in position to be advanced around the platen and retracted, at the reciprocation of the carbon-paper carriage, friction-braking means acting on said reels and arranged to resist turning thereof with a predetermined moderate force, said reels being arranged to permit the work-webs to be threaded between them, but being in low, compact fornlation, to permit all of the work-webs and carbon-webs to be substantially straightened beneath the platen when it is displaced, so that the frictional resistance of the workwebs to the retraction of the carbon-webs by the rearwardmovement of the carbon-carriage will not be sufficient to overcome. any of the carbon-reelbraking means and cause fresh carbon to be unwound from the reels, said braking means thus causing the same stretches of carbon to be passed repeatedly around the platen during successive advances of the carbon-carriage until Worn out,.and said reel-braking means being arranged to yieldto permit rotation of the reels in response to a moderate rearward thrust upon the carbon-carriage when the carbon-webs are positively held by the operator against withdrawal, whereb worn stretches of carbon ma be readily replaced from the reserve-supply on the reels with out preliminary releasing of the reserve carbon;

2. In a typewriting machine, a carriage,

a platen rotatably mounted in the carriage, a rear carriage-extension, a carbon-paper carriage reciprocable on said extension toward and from the platen, and across which work-webs are fed toithe platen, a

knife for severing the work-webs when thecarriage is in a rearward position and for severing stretches of carbon-webs with the work-webs when the former are worn out, a series of carbon-paper reserve storage and supply reels on said carbon-paper carriage, a supply ofcarbon-web carried by each reel, comprising a reserve-portion wound on the reel and an active portion extending forwardly from the reel, means for yieldingly resisting the unreeling of the reserve-portion of the carbon with a predetermined moderate force to normally cause the carbon-paper to be retracted bodily with the carbon-car'riageand so to: prevent the advance of the reserve-portion to active position and the advance of the active portion to position to be severed by said knife, and

means for enabling the work and carbon webs to be straightened beneath the platen, to permit the carbon-webs to be. withdrawn relatively to the work-webs without unreeling any of said carbon-webs.

In a typewriting machine, a traveling carriage, a platen displaceable insaid carriage, a rear extension on said carriage, a carbon-carriage,reciprocable on said extension toward and from'the platen, a series of carbon-carrying reels on the carbon-carriage for carrying carbon-webs, said reels being arranged in rows and columns between work-webs in a low, compactformation, so that all the carbon-webs and workwebs may be substantially straightened beneath the platen when the latter is displaced and the carbon-carriage is in a forward position, to permit the retraction of the carbon-webs relatively to the workwebs by rearward movement of the carbonearriage with little friction, and without smearing the Work-webs, and means on the reciprocable carbon-carria e for guiding the work-webs between the iiarbon-reels'and reels at the retraction of the carbon-carriage.

4. In a multiple-web typewriting ,machine, the combination with a platen, of a carbon-carrier mounted for movement toward and away from the platen, a roll mounted upon said carbon-carrier to travel therewith, and means for opposing the rotation of the roll to prevent it from unwinding during the movement of the carbon-carrier to shift the carbon relatively to the work-web.

5. Ina -multiple-web typewriting ma chine, the combination with a platen, of a carbon ca'rrier mounted for movement toward and away from the platen, a roll mounted upon said carbon-carrier to travel therewith, means for opposing the rotation of the roll to prevent it from unwinding during the movement of the carbon-carrier to shift the carbon relatively to the workweb, a plurality of carbon-rolls mounted upon said carbon-carrier to occupy positions between the plies of web and to travel with the carboncarrier, and means for opposing the rotation of said rolls to prevent them from paying out carbon during the movement of the carbon-carrier to shift the carbon along the web.

6. In a multiple-web typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of a carboncarrier mounted for movement toward and awayfrom the platen, a roll mounted upon said carbon-carrier to travel therewith, means for opposing the rotation of the roll to preventit from unwinding during the movement of the carbon-earrier to shift the carbon relatively to the. work-web, a plurality of carbon-rolls mounted upon said carbon-carrier to occupy positions between the -plies of web and to travel with the carbon-carrier, and means for opposing the rotation of said rolls to prevent them from paying out carbon-during the movement of the carbon-carrier to shift the carbon along the web, said rolls being mounted in tiers, one tier behind another.

7. In a multiple-web typewriti'ng machine, the combination with a platen, of a carbon-carrier mounted for movement toward and away from the platen, a roll mounted upon said carbon-carrier to travel therewith, means for opposing the rotation of the roll to prevent it from unwinding during the movement of the carbon-carrier to shift the carbon relatively to the workweb, a plurality of carbon-rolls mounted upon said carbon-carrier to occupy positions between the plies of web and to travel with the carbon-carrier, and means for,opposing the rotation of said rolls to prevent them from paying out carbon during the movement of the carbon-carrier to shift the carbon along the web, said "rolls being mounted in tiers, one tier behind another, the rolls in one tier being at different elevations from those in another tier.

WERNER r, ROTH'ERMUND.

Witnesses: v

EDITH B. LIBBEY, CATHERINE A. NEWELL. 

